[RD] Trump in Charge: The MAGA Presidency

Trump says trade talks with Canada 'terminated' over anti-tariffs advert​

US President Donald Trump has announced an immediate end to all trade negotiations with Canada over an advert critical of the tariffs he has imposed on the nation.

The advert, sponsored by the government of Canada's province of Ontario, quoted Trump's predecessor, Ronald Reagan, an icon of US conservatism, saying tariffs "hurt every American".

Trump wrote on social media that the advert was "FAKE" and "egregious", adding that trade talks were "HEREBY TERMINATED".

His administration has imposed a 35% levy on many Canadian imports, as well as individual tariffs targeting particular industries like car and steel manufacturing. Ontario has been particularly hard-hit by these.

Trump has allowed exemptions for goods that fall under a free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that he negotiated during his first term.

But Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney has since his election earlier this year attempted to strike a deal that would ease the US tariffs.

This has been complicated by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who is one of the most vocal critics of the taxes levied on US firms buying Canadian products.

In the minute-long advert published last week, Reagan's voice can be heard narrating over images that include the New York Stock Exchange and cranes adorned with both US and Canadian flags.

The video excerpts a 1987 national radio address by Reagan that focused on foreign trade.

"When someone says 'let's impose tariffs on foreign imports', it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a short while it works, but only for a short time," Reagan says in the advert.

"But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American, worker and consumer.

"High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars... Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs."

The Ronald Reagan Foundation - which is charged with preserving his legacy - released a statement on Thursday saying the advert had used "selective" audio and video of the former president's remarks.

It said the advert "misrepresents" the former president's address, without specifying why, and accused the Ontario government of not seeking permission to use and edit the remarks.

The foundation said it was "reviewing its legal options".

Trump referenced this statement, and said the video was designed to "interfere with" the US Supreme Court's upcoming decision in November on whether Washington's sweeping tariffs on many nations' products are legal.

The court's decision represents the biggest test of Trump's presidential authority and signature economic policy, potentially forcing the US to refund billions collected in tariffs.
While the minute-long advert only includes excerpts from the original, five-minute-long address, it does not alter Reagan's words.

The order in which he makes the comments has been changed. The advert's penultimate sentence is taken from near the beginning of his speech, and a phrase that features about halfway through the advert is likewise taken from an earlier point in the address.

The original address - titled Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade - is regarding a specific set of tariffs the Reagan administration had at the time imposed on some Japanese goods.

Reagan seeks to use the speech explain why he had introduced the tariffs in this "special case" despite his belief that "imposing such tariffs or trade barriers and restrictions of any kind are steps that I am loath to take".

He makes clear that he wants to lift them as soon as possible "to promote the prosperity and economic development that only free trade can bring" - a position he stresses throughout the speech.

The advert was run as part of a campaign worth $75m Canadian dollars (£40m; $54m) on mainstream TV channels in the US.

In a post accompanying the advert, Ford wrote that "we'll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada".

China's embassy in Washington also used a similar Reagan clip in a post on X to cast doubt on Trump's global tariffs earlier this year.

Ontario is Canada's most populous province and its largest regional economy, and has suffered the most as a result of the US tariffs.

Ford hit back at Trump's earlier tariff threat against Canada by saying he was willing to cut off power supply to the US.

He had also described Washington's trade policies against Canada as having pulled a knife and "yanked it into us", and called on US lawmakers to put pressure on Trump.

Trump's sector-specific levies on Canadian goods include a 50% levy on metals and 25% on automobiles.

The White House's global tariffs - particularly on steel, aluminium and cars - have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and putting pressure on businesses.

Carney and Ford have not yet commented on Trump's announcement.

It is the second time Trump has said he was ceasing trade talks with Canada, after Ottawa announced it would impose a digital services tax on US technology firms earlier this year.

When Canada rescinded the tax, the White House said Carney had "caved" to pressure from Trump.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdjrlmd4pmeo
 
Broken_Erika said:

Trump says trade talks with Canada 'terminated' over anti-tariffs advert​

US President Donald Trump has announced an immediate end to all trade negotiations with Canada over an advert critical of the tariffs he has imposed on the nation.

The advert, sponsored by the government of Canada's province of Ontario, quoted Trump's predecessor, Ronald Reagan, an icon of US conservatism, saying tariffs "hurt every American".

Trump wrote on social media that the advert was "FAKE" and "egregious", adding that trade talks were "HEREBY TERMINATED".

His administration has imposed a 35% levy on many Canadian imports, as well as individual tariffs targeting particular industries like car and steel manufacturing. Ontario has been particularly hard-hit by these.

Trump has allowed exemptions for goods that fall under a free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that he negotiated during his first term.

But Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney has since his election earlier this year attempted to strike a deal that would ease the US tariffs.

This has been complicated by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who is one of the most vocal critics of the taxes levied on US firms buying Canadian products.

In the minute-long advert published last week, Reagan's voice can be heard narrating over images that include the New York Stock Exchange and cranes adorned with both US and Canadian flags.

The video excerpts a 1987 national radio address by Reagan that focused on foreign trade.

"When someone says 'let's impose tariffs on foreign imports', it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a short while it works, but only for a short time," Reagan says in the advert.

"But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American, worker and consumer.

"High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars... Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs."

The Ronald Reagan Foundation - which is charged with preserving his legacy - released a statement on Thursday saying the advert had used "selective" audio and video of the former president's remarks.

It said the advert "misrepresents" the former president's address, without specifying why, and accused the Ontario government of not seeking permission to use and edit the remarks.

The foundation said it was "reviewing its legal options".

Trump referenced this statement, and said the video was designed to "interfere with" the US Supreme Court's upcoming decision in November on whether Washington's sweeping tariffs on many nations' products are legal.

The court's decision represents the biggest test of Trump's presidential authority and signature economic policy, potentially forcing the US to refund billions collected in tariffs.
While the minute-long advert only includes excerpts from the original, five-minute-long address, it does not alter Reagan's words.

The order in which he makes the comments has been changed. The advert's penultimate sentence is taken from near the beginning of his speech, and a phrase that features about halfway through the advert is likewise taken from an earlier point in the address.

The original address - titled Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade - is regarding a specific set of tariffs the Reagan administration had at the time imposed on some Japanese goods.

Reagan seeks to use the speech explain why he had introduced the tariffs in this "special case" despite his belief that "imposing such tariffs or trade barriers and restrictions of any kind are steps that I am loath to take".

He makes clear that he wants to lift them as soon as possible "to promote the prosperity and economic development that only free trade can bring" - a position he stresses throughout the speech.

The advert was run as part of a campaign worth $75m Canadian dollars (£40m; $54m) on mainstream TV channels in the US.

In a post accompanying the advert, Ford wrote that "we'll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada".

China's embassy in Washington also used a similar Reagan clip in a post on X to cast doubt on Trump's global tariffs earlier this year.

Ontario is Canada's most populous province and its largest regional economy, and has suffered the most as a result of the US tariffs.

Ford hit back at Trump's earlier tariff threat against Canada by saying he was willing to cut off power supply to the US.

He had also described Washington's trade policies against Canada as having pulled a knife and "yanked it into us", and called on US lawmakers to put pressure on Trump.

Trump's sector-specific levies on Canadian goods include a 50% levy on metals and 25% on automobiles.

The White House's global tariffs - particularly on steel, aluminium and cars - have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and putting pressure on businesses.

Carney and Ford have not yet commented on Trump's announcement.

It is the second time Trump has said he was ceasing trade talks with Canada, after Ottawa announced it would impose a digital services tax on US technology firms earlier this year.

When Canada rescinded the tax, the White House said Carney had "caved" to pressure from Trump.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdjrlmd4pmeo
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Again, from the US Declaration of Independence:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
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https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
Birdjaguar said:
ICE entices recruits with $50,000 signing bonuses
BY REBECCA SANTANA ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The agency responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportations is launching a recruiting campaign to entice “brave and heroic Americans” to serve as new deportation officers, lawyers and investigators as the government gears up for a major expansion of immigration enforcement thanks to a recent infusion of money from Congress. The icing on the cake: a promise of up to $50,000 in signing bonuses.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement campaign, which rolled out late Tuesday, recalls recruiting posters from World War II with images of Uncle Sam and the words “AMERICA NEEDS YOU.” There also are photos of Trump and top homeland security officials with the words “DEFEND THE HOMELAND” across the images.

“Your country is calling you to serve at ICE,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a news release. “This is a defining moment in our nation’s history. Your skills, your experience, and your courage have never been more essential. Together, we must defend the homeland.” In addition to appealing to prospective applicants’ patriotic fervor, Homeland Security is making a pocketbook pitch. The agency is promising up to $50,000 in signing bonuses, the potential for lots of overtime for deportation officers and other benefits such as loan repayment or forgiveness options.

Lots of money is coming to ICE

All of this is made possible by a big infusion of money to ICE.

The package of tax breaks and spending cuts that Trump signed into law this month includes about $170 billion for border security and immigration enforcement, spread out over five years.

ICE is set to get $76.5 billion, nearly 10 times its current annual budget. Some $45 billion will

go toward increasing detention capacity. Nearly $30 billion is for hiring 10,000 more staff so the agency can meet its goal of 1 million annual deportations.

New hires include deportation officers responsible for tracking down, arresting and removing people who the administration determines no longer have the right to remain in the United States.

Under the Republican president, those officers are high-profile roles — making arrests at immigration courts, in the streets and at businesses. They often are criticized by immigration activists and Democratic lawmakers for wearing masks while carrying out their duties.

On the recruitment webpage, the link to learn more about applying to be a deportation officer shows a photo of an armored vehicle rolling down a street with officers in military gear hanging onto the sides of the vehicle.

The government is also seeking criminal investigators and lawyers who will prosecute immigration cases.
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Again, from the US DOI:
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people
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https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
Samson said:
Noncriminal ICE arrests spiked in June (avoiding paywall)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of people without criminal charges or convictions surged in June, newly obtained data shows.

The numbers illustrate a major shift that came soon after the Trump administration tripled ICE's arrest quota.

People without criminal charges or convictions made up an average of 47% of daily ICE arrests in early June, up from about 21% in early May, before the quota increase.

View attachment 737456
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and Again from the US DOI:
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither
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https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
 
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Kaitzilla said:
Still not sure how long Trump can magic the money for the military.
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Things just keep getting more magical.

Military pay will be funded by a $120 million private donation for a little while. :love:


The Trump administration plans to funnel a $130 million donation from an anonymous ally of President Donald Trump toward paying military service members during the government shutdown, the Defense Department confirmed on Friday.

“The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of Service members’ salaries and benefits,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to CNN, adding that the money was accepted under the department’s “general gift acceptance authority.”

The move marks a striking departure from government procedure for funding the military, which traditionally relies on public funds appropriated by Congress.
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I'm sure Trump can't make me angry today.
Yup.

futurism.com

Trump Administration Providing Weapons Grade Plutonium to Sam Altman

The White House is providing plutonium to Sam Altman's Oklo, one of four US companies chosen to test experimental reactor designs.
futurism.com futurism.com

In one of his wildest money moves to date, the Financial Times reports that Trump is now offering companies access to plutonium from America’s arsenal of cold war nuclear missiles.

On Tuesday, the US Department of Energy (DOE) launched an application for interested parties to apply for access to a maximum of 19 metric tonnes — a little under 42,000 pounds — of weapons-grade plutonium, which has long been a key resource undergirding the US nuclear arsenal.
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Private people, applying for 19000kg of plutonium.
That's .. not ... possible :twitch::twitch::twitch::twitch::twitch::twitch::twitch::yumyum::twitch::twitch::twitch::twitch::twitch::twitch::twitch:


"It would be incredibly dangerous, complicated, and expensive to convert these impure plutonium materials into fuel that is safe enough for use in reactors," said Edwin Lyman, a physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
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Whaaaaaa really?!

And who will guard the plutonium?
Brinks Security?

The inevitable theft won't result in merely an insurance claim like jewels being stolen from a museum.

:wallbash:
 
I wished I lived near Vegas instead of DC so I could be prepared to play the one actually good 3D era Fallout game IRL. 3 is a pain compared to NV.
 

The U.S. Is Preparing for War in Venezuela​

More U.S. military firepower is headed to the Caribbean as Trump escalates his anti-Maduro rhetoric.
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On September 2, Holsey, now an admiral leading the U.S. military’s southern command, was put in charge of a mission unlike any that has come before: The United States was, without any warning or attempt at interdiction, striking suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea. Early into the mission, Defense officials told us, he privately raised concerns to Pentagon leadership about the operations, which have now struck at least 10 suspected drug-trafficking vessels that the U.S. redefined as “terrorist,” killing 43 people.

Holsey’s complaints led to a tense meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, officials said, after which the 37-year Navy veteran announced that he planned to leave his post next month, less than a year into what was supposed to be a three-year tenure. (Like other officials we spoke with for this story, they requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly. The Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment on Holsey’s departure.)

Since then, the strikes have escalated even as the legal questions around them have yet to be answered. There was another strike overnight, this one killing six, according to Hegseth. And today, the Pentagon announced that the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft-carrier strike group, a multi-ship force staffed by as many as 5,000 troops, would travel from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. The intent, the Pentagon said, is to “bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors.” The ships, which are currently on a port visit in Croatia, will take just over a week; their movement was the latest indication that what began as a campaign to pick off alleged drug runners as they ply the seas in small fishing vessels is evolving into something far larger.
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The U.S. hasn’t sent this many ships to the Caribbean since the Cuban missile crisis. There are already roughly 6,500 Marines and sailors in the region, operating from eight Navy vessels, as well as 3,500 troops nearby. Once the Ford arrives, the U.S. will have roughly as many ships in the Caribbean as it used to defend Israel from Iranian missile strikes this summer. The carrier strike group also provides far more firepower than is necessary for the occasional attack on narco-trafficking targets. But the ships could be ideal for launching a steady stream of air strikes inside Venezuela.


“The only thing you could use the carrier for is attacking targets ashore, because they are not going to be as effective at targeting small boats at sea,” Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and retired Navy officer, told us. “If you are striking inside Venezuela, the carrier is an efficient way to do it due to the lack of basing in the region.”

As U.S.-military assets in the region have accumulated, the administration’s language about deposing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has grown more threatening. A person close to the White House told Semafor this week that the administration would cooperate with Congress on its plans for military action only when “Maduro’s corpse is in U.S. custody.”

For about two months, the flotilla of American warships in the Caribbean has kept Venezuelans in suspense. The White House calls it a “counter-narcotic” mission, but Latin American analysts see it as a regime-change operation. Some Trump-administration officials hope that the threat of attacks on Venezuelan soil, coupled with the drumbeat of strikes at sea, will be sufficient to force Maduro to flee, making a direct campaign to remove him unnecessary. “Sending a message may be enough,” a senior administration official told us. “The pressure that is going to be applied will be immense.”
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The antidrug mission has been “a pressure campaign to see if the regime will crack,” Elliott Abrams, who served as special representative for Venezuela during the first Trump administration, told us. Among the aims of the strikes is to prompt military defections within the regime, which could in turn lead to its demise. “The idea is that officials will say to themselves, Maduro will fall, but I don’t have to fall with him,” Abrams said.
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https://www.theatlantic.com/nationa...enezuela-trump-caribbean-boats-maduro/684690/
non-paywalled:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...c83845cc642e09f652bf068dd6193&ocid=winp2fpent
 
The only thing about Trump that dosen't make him the worst president in my lifetime IMO, is he didn't invade and occupy a country needlessly and GWB did with Iraq. But if Trump invades Venezuela, Bush will be able to say "I'm not the worst anymore"
 
They are not even pretending any more:

DHS Posts Video Featuring Song Popular With Nazi Creators

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted a bizarre new video to social media platforms on Thursday featuring footage of federal agents arresting protesters in Portland, Oregon. The video uses a song that became very popular among Nazis and white supremacists at the tail end of President Donald Trump’s first term, in what appears to be a dog whistle to far-right extremists.

The song in the video, MGMT’s “Little Dark Age,” was released in 2018, though it’s been slowed down to an absurd degree. And while nothing in the song suggests sympathy with far-right ideology (quite the opposite, in fact), the song was adopted by far-right content creators in late 2020 to pair with Nazi and white supremacist imagery.

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a British think tank that tracks global extremism online, published a study in 2021 that noted how popular the song was with Nazis. One example used in the report shows how the song was paired on TikTok with a slideshow of George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party, who was killed in 1967.

But the report also explains how popular the song has been to promote esoteric Nazism, featuring memes and fictional characters with far-right symbols like the Sonnenrad or Black Sun. The fact that the song is also slowed down in a very exaggerated manner in the DHS video is another hallmark of the far-right videos that went viral in the early 2020s.

Again, nothing about the song makes sense as a ballad for the far-right, as you can see from some of the lyrics, which seem to be criticizing police violence:

Policemen swear to God, love seeping from their guns
I know my friends and I would probably turn and run
If you get out of bed, come find us heading for the bridge
Bring a stone, all the rage, my little dark age
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The Guardian described the far-right’s affinity for the song in an article from 2024: “Certainly, its adoption doesn’t say much for your average neo-Nazi’s ability to understand English. Little Dark Age’s lyrics are, fairly obviously, an excoriation of Trump-era America and racist police violence.”

Border Patrol Posts Instagram Propaganda Video Featuring Antisemitic Slurs

A U.S. Border Patrol video featuring antisemitic lyrics went viral on X on Tuesday after far-right users discovered it had been posted to Facebook and Instagram. The video, which included the lyrics “Jew me” and “kike me,” was deleted from the platforms on Wednesday morning, though it’s not clear whether the offensive content was taken down by Border Patrol or Meta.

The 13-second video appears to have been posted to Instagram in August, but was pinned in the Reels section of the official Border Patrol page, making it more visible to a wider audience. The video only gained widespread attention late Tuesday on X, where far-right extremists celebrated a signal that was clearly intended for them. The Instagram video had 3.4 million views when Gizmodo viewed it Tuesday night.

The audio used in the clip comes from Michael Jackson’s controversial 1995 song “They Don’t Care About Us.” The song includes the lyrics “Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don’t you black or white me.”

The lyrics were criticized at the time for being antisemitic, though Jackson defended his words, insisting he didn’t intend for them to be offensive. The singer, who died in 2009, issued an apology and later released an edited version of the song.

The antisemitic Border Patrol video

The video starts with footage of someone adjusting a bodycam before viewers see Border Patrol agents walking around with guns. Another shot shows a truck hauling Border Patrol dune buggies, and then a shot in the desert where a dune buggy kicks up dust behind it.

Spoiler Antisemitic video on youtube :

The video is very short, making it clear that the choice of lyrics was the intentional focus. Viewers are obviously meant to hear the antisemitic aspects, since it’s more or less the only audio in the 13 seconds being presented. DHS didn’t respond to questions from Gizmodo on Wednesday morning.

Comments on Instagram included people who clearly understood the message of the video as antisemitic. One commenter replied, “based song choice,” which was liked by the Border Patrol account. Another commenter wrote, “if you know you know.”

Comments from the far-right on X were even more explicit, including “This deserves 6 million likes and shares,” a reference to the number of Jews who died in the Holocaust.

Other commenters on X marveled at how mainstream their far-right and antisemitic ideas were becoming, with one person writing, “This movie is taking a strange turn. It’s strange to me because I never thought I’d see this in the mainstream—it was always underground.”
 
SemiLazyGamer said:
Guantanamo Bay evacuating non-essential US Citizens in advance of Hurricane Melissa.

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Hopefully the President will call off any bombings and direct the fleets to help aid Jamaica. (Island nation south of Cuba)

A category 5 hurricane is going to directly hit the island today it appears, the strongest in Jamaica's history.

abcnews.go.com

Hurricane Melissa's path: What to expect from the Category 5 storm

Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm, will slam into Jamaica on Monday as the worst storm the island has ever seen.
abcnews.go.com abcnews.go.com

Like dead center :sad:

 

British journalist Sami Hamdi detained by US authorities​

British journalist and media commentator Sami Hamdi, an outspoken critic of Israel, has been arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

While on a speaking tour of the US over the weekend, Hamdi was detained by ICE officers and his visa was revoked, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Tricia McLaughlin, announced on X on Sunday.

Hamdi is in ICE custody pending his removal from the country, she added.

The State Department and DHS allege that Hamdi supports terrorism and poses a threat to national security, while a Muslim advocacy group argues he is being politically targeted in violation of his free speech rights.

"We've said it before, we'll say it again: The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans," the State Department said on X in a post about Hamdi's detainment.

The department added that it will continue revoking the visas of people engaged in such activities.

Hamdi, who frequently appears on British TV networks to comment on the Middle East, was detained at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday "apparently because of his criticism of Israel's genocide in Gaza", the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, said in a statement.

Hamdi spoke at CAIR Sacramento's annual gala on Saturday, and was scheduled to speak at CAIR Florida's gala on Sunday before he was detained.

"Our nation must stop abducting critics of the Israeli government at the behest of unhinged Israel First bigots. This is an Israel First policy, not an America First policy, and it must end," CAIR wrote in its statement.

CAIR urged ICE to immediately release Hamdi, adding that its lawyers are working to address the "injustice".

Hamdi's arrest came after far-right political activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer wrote a series of posts on X accusing Hamdi of supporting terrorist organisations. In return, CAIR argued Loomer was promoting "anti-Muslim conspiracy theories".

Representatives for Hamdi did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.

This isn't the first time the Trump administration has revoked the visas of people who have openly criticised Israel's war in Gaza.

In March, Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested and threatened with deportation in a case that is still ongoing. His case was the most prominent in a series of arrests of student activists.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c867gdjl1n1o
 
Samson said:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted a bizarre new video to social media platforms on Thursday featuring footage of federal agents arresting protesters in Portland, Oregon. The video uses a song that became very popular among Nazis and white supremacists at the tail end of President Donald Trump’s first term, in what appears to be a dog whistle to far-right extremists.

The song in the video, MGMT’s “Little Dark Age,” was released in 2018, though it’s been slowed down to an absurd degree. And while nothing in the song suggests sympathy with far-right ideology (quite the opposite, in fact), the song was adopted by far-right content creators in late 2020 to pair with Nazi and white supremacist imagery.

Again, nothing about the song makes sense as a ballad for the far-right, as you can see from some of the lyrics, which seem to be criticizing police violence: The Guardian described the far-right’s affinity for the song in an article from 2024: “Certainly, its adoption doesn’t say much for your average neo-Nazi’s ability to understand English. Little Dark Age’s lyrics are, fairly obviously, an excoriation of Trump-era America and racist police violence.”
Click to expand...
This isn't unusual... "Fortunate Son" has become an iconic war/military anthem, and a favourite for Vietnam-War movie scores despite being a anti-war protest song... Same for "Born in the USA"... its used as an iconic Murican patriotic anthem despite the lyrics clearly being critical of the US
 
Does someone at the White House really love Halo or is excited that a remake of the first game's campaign was just announced? Because I've been seeing on social media ICE recruitment posters using Halo based images and memes and there's a photo of Trump superimposed on a Master Chief's body.

www.polygon.com

President Trump has declared the end to the console wars, for some reason

The White House has chimed in on Halo coming to PS5 with an AI-generated image of President Trump as Master Chief
www.polygon.com www.polygon.com

Or another question: is it because Microsoft is a major donor to Trump and now they are getting back some of their money in side advertising?
 

Confederate statue torn down during anti-racism protests reinstalled in Washington​

A statue of a Confederate general that was torn down and set on fire in 2020 during social justice protests in Washington has been reinstalled under orders from President Donald Trump.

General Albert Pike's statue has long been a source of controversy, as have many Confederate monuments across the US which were erected decades after the Civil War.

The National Park Service announced in August its plan to return the refurbished statue, after Trump signed an executive order called "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History".

Democratic Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents the District of Columbia, called the restoration “offensive to members of the military who serve honorably”.

On Monday afternoon, videos showed the area surrounding Pike's statue in Washington with a sign that read "Area close. Historic preservation work in progress".

"The restoration aligns with federal responsibilities under historic-preservation law and recent executive orders to beautify the nation’s capital and restore pre-existing statues," the National Park Service in a statement.

The statue, which was built in 1901, has been a source of controversy for many years. Members of local government have been calling for its removal for decades.

Holmes Norton, a long-time critic, has introduced legislation to remove the Pike statue permanently multiple times.

"Pike himself served dishonourably," she said in a statement after the statue was restored. "He took up arms against the United States, misappropriated funds, and was ultimately captured and imprisoned by his own troops."

"Confederate statues should be placed in museums as historical artifacts, not remain in parks or other locations that imply honor," Holmes Norton added.

Pike's statue was the only monument to a Confederate general in the nation's capital before it was pulled down in 2020.

Pike was a longtime leader of the Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society, who paid for the statue.

His body is interred at the Washington headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, which also contains a small museum in his honour.

Pike's critics have accused him of being instrumental in the formation of the Ku Klux Klan. Masons insist that evidence doesn't support the allegations.

The plaque that previously labelled the statue read "author, poet, scholar, soldier, jurist, orator, philanthropist and philosopher".

Anti-racism protesters used ropes and chains to pull down the Pike statue following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a police officer in 2020.

Then-President Trump, in his first term, condemned the toppling on Twitter, writing: "The DC police are not doing their job as they watched a statue be ripped down and burn. These people should be immediately arrested. A disgrace to our country."

Floyd's death ignited a nationwide reckoning with systemic racism, prompting widespread calls to remove Confederate monuments. Ultimately, more than 300 such memorials were taken down across the country.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has ordered statues and paintings of Confederate generals to be reinstalled.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm27ke33gvmo
 
Venezuela claims they foiled an attempted CIA-financed false-flag operation on the USS Gravely while the ship was parked in a Tinidad and Tobago harbor for joint war exercises.

www.the-independent.com

Venezuela claims to have captured ‘CIA backed cell plotting false flag attack’

Venezuela believes Trump is trying to put pressure on President Maduro in order to displace him from power
www.the-independent.com www.the-independent.com

EDIT: Texas just sued Johnson and Johnson over Tylenol autism claims.

www.texastribune.org

Texas sues Tylenol company over autism claims

This lawsuit comes a month after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. updated guidance discouraging pregnant women from taking acetaminophen, citing it as a possible cause of autism.
www.texastribune.org www.texastribune.org
 
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Half of US states sue Trump administration over halting food stamps​

Half of US states have sued the Trump administration over its plans to halt funding for food aid used by more than 40 million low-income Americans.

The states hope to force the administration to use a roughly $6bn (£4.5bn) emergency contingency fund for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), also known as food stamps.

The US Department of Agriculture (Usda), which oversees Snap, has said it would not use it and allow funds to run dry in November, arguing the money may be needed for emergencies, such as natural disasters.

Republicans and Democrats have traded blame for the ongoing federal shutdown and there has not been any meaningful progress toward a deal.

"Bottom line, the well has run dry," the Usda said in an announcement about Snap benefits on its website.

The suit, led by Democratic attorneys generals in 25 states and the District of Columbia, argues the administration not using the contingency funds would be unlawful and deprive millions of Americans from being able to afford groceries.

They note it would mark the first time in the programme's history the funds would not be dolled out.

"Shutting off SNAP benefits will cause deterioration of public health and well-being," the lawsuit reads.

"The loss of SNAP benefits leads to food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition, which are associated with numerous negative health outcomes in children, such as poor concentration, decreased cognitive function, fatigue, depression, and behavioral problems."

States involved in the lawsuit include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

"While Donald Trump parades around the world trying to repair the economic damage he's done with his incompetence, he's denying food to millions of Americans who will go hungry next month," California Gov Gavin Newsom said.

"It's cruel and speaks to his basic lack of humanity. He doesn't care about the people of this country, only himself."

Responding to the lawsuit, the Usda blamed Democrats for the fund running dry and said they need to decide whether they want to "hold out for the Far-Left wing of the party or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments".

Even if the contingency fund is used to help Snap beneficiaries, it would only cover about 60% of one month of benefits, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a think-tank focused on policies that help low-income families.

Snap works by giving people reloadable debit cards that they can use to buy essential grocery items.

A family of four on average receives $715 (£540) per month, according to CBPP, which breaks down to a little less than $6 (£4.50) per day per person.

The states administer the programmes, with much of the funding coming from the federal government.

Several states have pledged to use their own funds to cover any shortfall, however the federal government has warned that they will not be reimbursed.

Some, including Massachusetts - where one million people are expected to lose benefits - have said they do not have enough money to make up for the lack of funds.

Many states are working with people in Snap to try locate charity food pantries and find alternative sources for meals, and California is deploying its National Guard to help distribute food.

The US government shutdown entered its 28th day on Tuesday, making it the second-longest shutdown in history.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2px0zmz8mo
 
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